In keeping with the time honored tradition of mixing up turkeys and stem christies with a side of gratuitous method grabs, Sun Valley dropped the ropes on both Baldy and Dollar once again commencing its 78th season of keeping it real on Thanksgiving Day. Free ran the pent up beast of the ski season let loose throughout the hallowed pines of Sun Valley region. With cold temps and a little cooperation from Mother Nature supplemented by the world's largest automated snow God, all 3,400 vertical feet of frosted white monolith greeted thousands of skiers to the start of winter 2013-14.

The distinct honor of riding the first chair of the 13-14 winter season goes to this barbershop quartet. Nice work boys!

Getting first chair of the season makes for serious adolescent bragging rights and a small little encampment sprang up at the base of River Run over night. When the sun came up gently dripping into the valley, the lineup (which is one of the only lift lines of the year) shuddered in the frosty air and then shouted with stoke to be getting back to the top of the Bald One.

A line of stoked out skiers and boarders got the season underway November 28.

Settling back into the well familiar embrace of a cold chair lift, feet performing the pendulum, it felt as though summer had never happened. Getting whisked to the top brought back a thousand memories and the promise of more was made evident by the chatter of a stoked group of locals and a few out of towners who had made the trek to get some early season turns in. Seasonal friendships were reunited seeing those who you hang tight with when it snows. High fives went up all around.

All sizes of shredders made tracks down college on Turkey Day.

Dollar Mountain opened promptly with a good line up of features and plenty of young whippersnappers snapping up first tracks.

Dollar's terrain park was open for business making all the kids happy. Big and little.

The lines on mid College get grooved in.

With that the record books were put back in order, and a crowd of rosy cheeked revelers clinked glasses and sucked down hot chocolate bringing in the season to come as live music filled the River Run Lodge below.

Get a good look at this as it's about as common a site as a Yeti. Opening morning lift line with coffee and donuts.

photos: Mark Oliver